Wisconsin Ag Connection
Some changes are being made to Wisconsin’s wolf depredation program, which pays farmers and rural residents damage fees if their livestock or hunting dogs are killed or injured by gray wolves. As part of a new bill signed into law by Governor Scott Walker this month, the state will be creating a new wolf harvest season, which means the administration of wolf depredation payments will need to transfer from the DNR’s Wildlife Management department to a different office.
According to Brad Koele, the DNR’s agricultural damage specialist, the removal of the wolf from the federal endangered and threatened species list means the DNR’s Endangered Resources bureau will no longer be paying for wolf depredations.
“With license and application fees now funding the wolf depredation program, we will administer this program consistently with how we provide reimbursements for other species under the agricultural damage program,” Koele said. “As with deer, goose, turkey or bear, eligible reimbursements are paid all at the same time, following the season, once we know how much money we have available to reimburse claims.”
Meanwhile, Koele says reimbursement payments will now be made only once a year, normally after December. He adds that depredation claims must be submitted to the agency within 14 days of the depredation being verified or determined to be probable. Those claims should be submitted to the department using the Wolf, Endangered or Threatened Species Damage Loss Reimbursement Request form.
Once depredation claims are received by the wildlife damage specialist in Madison the department will return a letter acknowledging it has received the request, and notifying the claimant whether they will be eligible for payments at the end of the year.
Other guidelines for wolf depredation payments will be developed over the next few months.